O that the race of men would raise

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O that the race of men would raise

Representative Text

1. O that the race of men would raise
Their voices to their heav’nly King,
And with the sacrifice of praise
The glories of Jehovah sing!
Ye navigators of the sea,
Your course on ocean’s tides who keep,
And there Jehovah’s wonders see,
His wonders in the briny deep!

2. He speaks; conflicting whirlwinds fly;
The waves in swelling torrents flow;
They mount, aspire to Heaven on high;
They sink, as if to hell below:
Their souls with terror melt away;
They stagger as if drunk with wine
Their skill is vain, to Thee they pray;
O, save them, Energy divine!

3. He stays the storm; the waves subside;
Their hearts with rapture are inspired;
Soft breezes waft them o’er the tide,
In gladness, to their port desired:
O that mankind the song would raise,
Jehovah’s goodness to proclaim!
Assembled nations shout His praise,
Assembled elders bless His name!

Author: John Quincy Adams

Adams, John Quincy. (Braintree, Mass., July 11, 1767-February 21, 1848, Washington, D.C.). Most of Adams' verse, both religious and secular, was written after he had left the Presidency. In his later years he composed a metrical version of the Psalms, best described as a free rendering in fairly good verse of what he felt was the essential idea of each Psalm. When his minister, William P. Lunt, of the First Parish, (Unitarian), Quincy, Mass., undertook the preparation of his hymn book The Christian Psalter, Mrs. Adams put the manuscript of her husband's metrical Psalms into Lunt's hands, and the latter included 17 of them in his book, and five other hymns by his distinguished parishioner.
The effect on Adams is recorded in a moving entr… Go to person page >